Airship mooring



arch 1 4, 1939.

H. W. CRUM ET AL AIRSHIPI MOORING Filed Sept. 22, 1936 s sheet-sheet 1 .L A m M U R C w H AIRSHIP MOORING Filed Sept. 22, 1936 S Sheets-Sheet 2 H.- w. cRuM a AL March 14, 1939.

AIRSHIP MOORING F iled Sept. 22, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 14, 1939. H. w. CRUM ET AL AIRSHIP MOORING Filed Sept. 22, 195

5 Sheets-Shee t 4 15 storm in the air.

Patented Mar. 14, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,150,428 AIRSHIP MoomNG" Harold W. Crum and DonaldW. Brown, Akron, Ohio, assignors to Wingfoot Corporation, Wi1-, mington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application September 22, 1936, Serial No. 101,986

'14 Claims. (01.244-115) This invention relates to lighter-than-air-craft and, more particularly, to improvements in mooring devices for such craft. It is especially adapted for non-rigid airships although it may be used for 5 rigid ships as well.

It is frequently desirable to moor an airship outside a hangar or closed building. Inmany cases the airship is operating in territory where there is no hangar available. In other cases the 10 weather may be such that it is impossible to bring the airship into the hangar without injuring or destroying the airship; In such cases of stormy weather or of excessively windy weather one procedure has been for the airship to' ride out the Another has been to moor it to a mast. This is also done in good weather where no hangar is available. v I

Where a non-rigid airship is moored outside, the only fairly efficient method heretofore has 20 been to attach it to a mast at'an under-nose or belly position. This has not been satisfactory in all respects, however. For instance, when ver- L .tical down gusts of wind occur, an airship moored to an under-nose mast is forced down, causing the 25 top of the mast to protrude into the envelope and thereby forcing open the pressure relief valves. This results in a loss of pressure when "the gusts decline. With continued down gusts an airship so moored on an under-nose mast will 3 lose pressure faster than it can be replaced and. itis sometimes necessary to pull therip cord and entirely deflate the ship to prevent the winds from whipping the airship around and actually destroying it.

35 Several methodsof-mooring airships at the nose have been known heretofore, too, but none has been satisfactory so far as is known. Some do not work and in others the mooring means are so cumbersome and so inefficient that they are 40 not practical. I

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide improved means for mooring airships.

Another object is to provide an improved nose mooring device which is simple in form, easily put into operation, and much more safe than devices heretofore used. More specific objects are to provide improvements in attaching a mooring cone to an airship nose, improvements in mooring masts, and improvements in attaching a 5 mooring cone to a mast. Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying draw- 55 ings wherein:

mooring mast.

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation showing an airship moored to a mast in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of a batten with'a cable lashed thereto; j 15 Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section of the batten and cable taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a transverse sectional view through V the nose cone which fits over the nose of the airship envelope;

Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section through one of the reinforcing channels of the nose cone which reinforce the nose cone against compression loads taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the nose cone of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation showing a cut-off section of the airship, the nose cone assembly, mooring mast and cup, with the mooring cone just ready for engagement in the mooring cup; I

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the mooring cup with mooring cone in engagement therewith, showing one of the locking means for detachably holding thecone in the cup;

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the spider-likefitting resiliently associated with the nose cone;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view through the spider-like fitting of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a view of the mast head and mooring cup looking toward the open end of the cup; v Fig. 12 is another view of the mast head and mooring cup showing parts in elevation and parts in cross-section; v

Fig.'l3 is a cross-section of a fragment of the mooring cup showing one of the latching devices;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary view of the locking pin which prevents rotation of the mooring cone in the mooring cup.

The principles of the present invention are ap- 40 plicable particularly for nose mooring of nonrigid airships. One/ofthe principal features of the invention is the resilient association of a spider-like fitting with a nose cone, one of which is carried by the airship and the other by a ,45

Another feature is found in the system of articulation permitting substantially universal pivoting of the airship with respect to the mast, whereby to provide maximum relief from excessive strains on the ship. Another fea- .50 ture is in the construction details and association of the mooring cup and mast head. Still another feature is in the construction of the mast itself to provide ruggedness and. strength with light weight facility in erection.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, an airship l0 having an envelope I2 is shown with its nose moored to the novel mast II. A plurality of battens l4 strengthen the nose section of the airship envelope l2 and aid in holding a nose cone I6 securely attached thereto. This nose cone it may be of the conventional design used on practically all non-rigid airships with the exceptions that its apex is cut off and a fiat steel plate I8 welded, riveted, or otherwise united with the remainder of the cone, forming a frusto conical shaped structure, and that a plurality of reinforcing channels 20 for resisting compression loads have been riveted to the inner side of the cone, it having been found advantageous to. stiffen the conventional nose cone somewhat because of the forces in compression which are frequently occasioned during the mooring "of the ship on the mast. The ends of the battens l4 are held in brackets or sockets 22 of the nose cone, the battens themselves being attached to the airship envelope l2 'by conventional means such as cord lacing. V

In the drawings twenty-four battens have .been shown. This number has been found satisfactory for airships of from 100,000 to 200,000 cubic feet capacity, but it willbe understood, of course, that a greater or lesser number may be employed.

A spider like fitting 24 is resiliently associated with the nose cone 16; said fitting, like the nose cone and the other parts of the mooring device, may be made of steel, duralumin or other suitable material. The fittin'g'24 is attached to the airship envelopelZ by a plurality of cables 25 which are lashed to the battens 44, the cables terminating in finger patches 28 secured on envelope l2 in conventional manner. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings twelve cables are employed, but this number may be varied to requirements of design. The lashing of these cables to the battens is facilitated by thin strips 30 of wood orother material nailed or otherwise secured to the outer edges of each batten to which a cable is to be lashed, thereby providing grooves in which the cables are located. As is shown in Figures 2 and 3, the cables 26 are so maintained in these grooves that they are free to move longitu dinally therein, stresses in tension on the cables thus being imparted to theenvelope l2 at the finger patches 28. Between the inner surface of the fitting 24 and the flatoutersurface 18 of the nose cone l5 and preferably attached to the fitting 24 are a plurality of compression coil springs 32, twelve being employed in the embodiment'described. It will thus be seen that the fitting 24 is in resilient association and in floating engagement with the nose cone l6. 4

Attached to the fitting 24 is a mooring cone 34 by means of a journaled bearing 36 located in the center of the fitting 24 permitting angular rotation about an axis substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the airship, and by means of arms 38 and 40 pivoted. at bolt '42 permitting movement at right angles to the axis of bearing 36. The mooring cone 34 contains a grooved recess 44 extending circumferentially about the come. In the recess 44 is located a rectangular slot 45. Attached to the end of mooring cone 34 is a mooring cable 46 which is sufiiciently long to reach to the cabin of the airship and also to the ground as the airship is walked to the mast.

The mast comprises a trussed tube 49 of appropriate height anda base plate 50 witha stake 52 for anchorage in theground. Thetube' lil -and the bayonet slot 15. handle 80 is then turned so that the latch end plate 50 are connected by means of pivot bolts 53 and 54 which permit swinging movement of the tube in two vertical planes at right angles to each other to facilitate erection. They also permit the tube 49 to rest on the ground while the base plate 50 and pin 52 are being anchored in the ground. A plurality of guy wires 56 are attached near the top of the tube 49 and on their other ends contain anchoring stakes 58. Reinforcing truss wires 60 are also spaced about the 7 tube 49 and joined thereto at its bottom end and near its upper end. The tube 49 also is fitted with a number of step brackets 62 for facilitating the climbing of the mast.

J ournaled in the upper end of the tube 49 and freely rotatable about the axis thereof is a masthead 54. To this masthead 64 is bolted a right angle flange 66 containing a pulley 63 over which the mooring cable-46 may be drawn when pulling the ship up to the mast. Bolted or otherwise secured to the flange is a mooring cup 70 which is characterized by a flaring mouth for receiving the. mooring cone 34, and three compression spring latches. 12 are equally spaced about the cup. These latches 12 extend radially and, when in engaging position, fit into the grooved recess 44 of mooring cone 34 and detachably retain it in mooring cup 10. One of-the latches l2, preferably'the lowermost one, is provided with a conventional bayonet joint including an offset slot (see Figure 14) which permits deeper engagement of the latch 12 and thus fits in the slot 45 in groove 44. This prevents rotation of the mooring cone 34 in the cup 10. The latches 12 are of conventional design and comprise beveled recess- 1 engaging means 14, compression springs '16, re-

cone 34 is entered in the cup 10, this being easily accomplished by reason of the fact that the cup 10 is in a horizontal position. When the cone 34 is thus in the cup 10, thelatches "12 are released so that their ends 14 fit in the grooved recess 44 and thusretain the airship in moored position.

, The cone 34 is rotated by hand until its slot 45 comes into registration withthat'latch 12 having The corresponding latch 74 engages'in the slot 45 and thus prevents rotation of the cone 34 in the cup 70, and assures the maintenance of bolt 42 in a substantially horizontal position. Also,'when it is desired to release the ship from the mast, it is helpful first to dis- ;engage the two uppermostlatches 72 (those without bayonet slots) from the grooved recess 44 of the. cone 34, and then, when the final command is given'to release the ship, the man on the mast merely pulls out the third latch 12.

By reason of the bearing 35 in the fitting 24, the pivot 42iand the rotatable mast head 54, the

ship is universallyjoined to the mast. In other words, limited movement of the ship in any direction is permitted. Also, the initial force of any gust of wind is taken up by the floating association -of the spider-"like fitting 24 with the nose cone l6 wherein the resilient springs 32'and'the isdl ' the danger by distributing the wind forces about the airship. v V c It will be understood that while the springs 32 are preferably helical coils, cylindrical coil springs may be used. Also, they may be attached to the nose cone l6 instead of to the fitting 24, but the latter is preferable. Their size and strength may be varied, too, according to the size of the airship. Also, resilient means other than spring may be employed, for example, rubber cushions.

By the improved mooring device of this invention an airship maybe moored successfully at its nose. Furthermore, when so moored, it will withstand much greater wind velocities Without danger than has been possible heretofore. 'In fact, an airship is usually safer in a storm when moored according to this invention than when riding-out the storm in the air. Thus, an airship moored by this invention has safely withstood wind velocities of seventy miles per hour. Transverse roll, even in winds of a 7 mile per hour velocity is not over 10. Axialtorsion is not excessive and the wheel of the airship located under the cabin does not grind into the ground. Furthermore, there is no substantial loss of pressure. That the invention is of great merit is apparent.

,Although only one form which the'invention may assume has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention isnot so limited, but that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope ofthe appended claims, wherein it is intended to cover all features of patentable novelty residing in the invention.

What we claim is: H

1. A moored airship comprising in combination with the airship, a nose cone comprising a frustoconical shaped structure fitted over the nose end of the envelope of said airship and securelyattached thereto by means including a plurality of battens terminating in said nose cone and extending radially at spaced intervals about the circumference of the airship, aspider-like fitting located over the outer end of said nose cone and including resilient springs for association with the outer end of said nose cone, said fitting being attached to the airship by means of a plurality of cables slidably lashed in said battens and terminating in finger patches attached to the envelope, a mooring cone adjustably connected with said spider-like fitting by means which permit tilting of the airship in different planes, a mooring cable extending from said mooring cone; a mooring mast extending vertically from the ground and attached to the ground by means of a base including a pointed stake or pinanchored in the ground, pivoting means connecting said base and said mast and permitting said mast to be laid on the ground While operatively engaging the base with the ground, a plurality of cables attache-d to the upper part of the mast and to the ground at spacedintervals about the base, a plurality of steps attached to the mast; a mast head comprising a journaled bearing fitted in the upper end of said mast and freely rotatable in a plane at right angles to the axis of said mast, a mooring cup attached to said bearing, said cup comprising a receptacle receiving said mooring cone in a horizontal plane, and locking means for detachably holding said cone in said receiving receptacle, said locking means including means preventing the rotation of said mooring cone in said receiving receptacle.

. 2. A moored airship comprising in combination with the airship, a nose cone comprising a frusto conical shaped structure fitted over the nose end of the envelope of said airship and securely attached thereto by means including a plurality of battens terminating in said nose cone and extending radially at spaced intervals about the circumference of the airship, a spider-like fitting located over the outerv end of said nose cone and including resilient springs for association with the outer end of said nose cone, said fitting being attached to the airship by means of a plurality'of cablesslidably lashed in said battens and ter-' minating in finger patches attached to the envelope, a mooring cone adjustably connected with said spider-like fitting by means which permit tilt? ing of the airship in different planes, a mooring cable extending fromsaidmooring cone, a mooring mast, a mast head comprising a journaled bearing fitted in the upper end'of said mast and rotatable in a plane at right angles to the axis of said mast, a mooring cup attached to said bearing, said cup comprising a receptacle receiving said mooring cone in a horizontal plane, and locking, means for detachably holding said cone in said receiving receptacle, said locking means.

including means preventing the rotation of said mooring cone in said receiving receptacle.

31A moored airship comprising in combination with the airship, a nose cone comprising a frusto-conical shaped structure fitted over the nose end of the envelope of said airship and securely attached thereto by means including a plurality of battens terminating in said nose cone and extending radially at spaced intervals about the circumference of the airship, a spiderlike fitting located over the outer end of said nose cone and resiliently associated with the outer end of said nose cone, said fitting being attached tothe airship by means of a plurality of cables slidably lashed in said battens and terminating in finger patches atached to the envelope, a mooring cone adjustably connected with spider-like fitting by means which permit tilting of the airship in different planes, a mooring cable extending from said mooring cone, a mooring mast, a masthead comprising a journaled bearing fitted in the upper end of said mast and freely rotatable in a plane at right angles to the axis of said mast, a mooring cup attached to said bearing, said cup comprising a receptacle receiving said mooring cone in a horizontal plane, and locking means for detachably holding said cone in said receiving receptacle, said locking means including means preventing the rotation of said mooring cone in said receiving receptacle.

4. A moored air ship comprising in combination, a nose cone seated on the nose of the airship, a spider-like fitting attached to the airship and located over the outer end of said nose cone but spaced therefrom, resilient cushioning means between the nose cone and said spider-like fitting, a mooring cone hingedly connected with said spider-like fitting by means which permit tilting of the airship in different planes, a mooring cable extending from said mooring cone, a mooring mast, a rotatable jcurnaled bearing fitted in the upper end of said mast, a mooring cup attached to said bearing, said cup comprising a receptacle receiving said mooring cone in a horizontal plane, and locking means for deairship and to be carried thereby, resilient compression'members also carried by the airship and serving as cushioning meansbetween said body member and the nose of the airship, and a cable fitting associated with the outer side of said body member.

6. An airship mooring device comprising a spider-like body member, means including a plurality .of cables for fioatably attaching said member to the airship, said cables being secured to the airship at spaced intervals about its circumference, a plurality of resilient compression springs attached to the inner side of said body member, and a cable fitting associated with the outer side .of said body member.

-7. An airship mooring device comprising a body member floatably attached to the nose of an airship, a plurality of cables efiecting such attachment, resilient cushioning means acting between the inner side of said body member and the nose of the airship, a mooring cone pivotally connected to said'body member, and a cable associated with said mooring cone.

8. An airship mooring device comprising a spider-like body member, means including a plurality of cables for floatably attaching said member to the airship, said cables being secured to the airship, resilient cushioning means attached at the inner side ,of said body member, and a mooring cone adjustably connected to the outer side of said body member by means which permit tilting of the airship in different planes.

9. In mooring apparatus for airships a nose cone assembly comprising a frusto-conical shaped cap, means for attaching said cap over the nose end of an airship, said means comprising a plurality of battens secured to the airship envelope at substantially uniformly spaced intervals about its circumference, a spider-like fitting for said cap, means for securing said fitting in floating engagement with the outer surface of said cap' such means including a plurality of compression springs, means for attaching said fitting to the airship, said means comprising cables laced over said battens and terminating in finger patches applied to the envelope, and a mooring cone adjustably connected with said spider-like fitting by means which permit tilting of the airship 'in different planes.

10. In combination with an airship, a resiliently cushioned fitting mounted on and spaced from the nose of said'airship, a mooring mast, and cooperating means for detachably connecting said fitting to said mast, said cooperating means comprising a mooring cone and a mooring cup. 11. In combination with an airship; a resiliently cushioned fitting mounted on and spaced from the nose of said airship, a mooring mast, and cooperating means for detachably connecting said fitting to said mast, said cooperating means comprising a mooring cone and a mooring cup, said mooring cone being attached to said resiliently yieldable fitting and said mooring cup being atta :h ed to said mast.

12. In combination with an airship, a resiliently cushioned fitting mounted on and spaced from the nose of said airship, a mooring mast, and cooperating means for detachably connecting said fitting to said mast, said cooperating means comprising a mooring cone and a mooring cup, said mooring cone pivotally attached to said resiliently yieldable fitting by means which permit tilting of the'airship in different planes.

13. In combination with an airship, a resil- 14. In nose-mooring apparatus for airships, a

nose cone assembly comprising a frusto-conicalshaped structure fitted over the nose end of the envelope of the airship and securely attached thereto, a spider-like fitting placed over the outer end of said structure and in resilient association therewith, said fitting being attached to the envelope at spaced intervals about the circumference of the envelope, and a mooring cone attachedto said fitting.

HAROLD W. CRUM. DONALD W. 'BROWN. 

